Techniques

Basic steps for beautiful joints. Dovetails. They get put on a pedestal as a sign of quality. And while not every project or furniture style warrants them, I enjoy sitting down, listening to an [...]

By hand or power? With a spring joint or not? One of the most important joints in woodworking is the edge joint. Without it, our projects would look like they had been built from narrow popsicle [...]

Like any table saw rip fence, mine needs occasional realignment to the blade. Because my miter gauge slots are aligned parallel to the blade, I just set my fence parallel to the right-hand slot. [...]

What is a CNC? Why might I want one & How does it work? Over the last decade, CNC machines have become a common topic in woodworking. Most know that they cut things out, but that’s the extent [...]

A few tools can go a long way. When you get started in woodworking there are many paths to follow, forks in the road, dead-ends and shortcuts. It’s a journey that our forebears would make with [...]

Discover a bit about clean, accurate boring. There are many tools in modern woodworking you can use to bore holes: powered drills (both corded and cordless), drill presses, hand-powered eggbeater [...]

A bevel is a bevel… except when it’s a miter, unless it’s a chamfer. Confused yet? You’re not alone. To the uninitiated, woodworking can be a tough nut to crack. Even the most basic of projects [...]

Tools and techniques for general metalwork in the shop. While the woodshop may be where I’m most comfortable, I’ve been fascinated by metalwork for some time. I’m always watching for tips and [...]

A system as elegant as the joint itself. Compound-angle dovetails are some of the most beguiling joints in all woodworking. But, as John Lennon once suggested, they can be as difficult to make as [...]

A Sharpening Handbook: What Every Woodworker Needs to Know About Sharpening If there’s one thing to be said about woodworkers, it’s that we’re old school and prefer to pick up a book (or a [...]

This traditional glue takes a little bit of preparation and planning, but is still a valuable asset in today’s shop. “Ought a turn you to glue.” It was a saying that I heard my great-grandfather [...]

The cost of this stock is physical exertion, but it’s fun and rewarding. The riven oak that I use for joinery work is the best stock available; but it comes at a cost – the labor invested to [...]